MSU helps discover protein that may prevent HIV

A Michigan State University research team has helped identify a protein that may show some promise in the fight to eliminate HIV infection. We talk with Dr. Yong-Hui Zheng from the MSU Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, and local journalist and HIV activist Todd Heywood.

There’s some new movement in the fight against HIV infection. A team of Michigan State University researchers has helped to identify a protein that appears to stop the virus from replicating. It’s doubtful the term Endoplasmic Reticulum Class One will ever be the household terms that HIV and AIDS have become over the last 30 years, but the protein may one day be part of clinical trials that might lead to a cure.

At the same time, the World Health Organization has released new guidelines for the prevention and treatment of HIV.

Current State talks about these advances with Dr. Yong-Hui Zheng, an associate professor with the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics at MSU and part of the team that helped discover the protein, and Todd Heywood, an HIV activist and journalist here in the Lansing area.

Related Content

It’s been 30 years since scientists discovered HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. At the height of the American AIDS epidemic in the 1980's and early 1990's, an HIV positive diagnosis was essentially a death sentence. Today, advances in treatment have greatly improved outcomes for people living with HIV, but the pandemic is far from over. We still have around 800 new infections every year in Michigan alone.

Low vaccination rates have been linked to outbreaks of measles and whooping cough last year in several Michigan counties. That prompted the state to require parents to talk to a health professional before seeking a so-called “philosophical” exemption. So, is it working? Current State speaks with Ingham County Health Officer Linda Vail and Dr. Eden Wells, chief medical executive for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

Ingham County officials may be nearing a resolution over how to provide medical services to the county’s neediest residents. That’s been an issue since participation plunged and surpluses soared at the Ingham Health Plan. Current State speaks with Ingham County Commissioner Todd Tennis about the road ahead.

Many of the people arrested in the United States suffer from a mental illness, and research indicates that those released from custody are four times as likely to attempt suicide when compared with those in jail. We talk with Dr. Jennifer Johnson about her research aimed at lowering the post-detention suicide rate.